DAILY LOBO new mexico
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J uly 9-15 2012
The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
Rio Rancho medical center opens Truck hits,
kills man near campus
by Avicra Luckey
avicraluckey@gmail.com
On Monday, Sandoval County’s state-of-the-art medical center, equipped with gadgets such as a robot, is set to open. Sandoval Regional Medical Center President and CEO Kevin Rogols said the Rio Rancho hospital is equipped with the newest technology in the medical field, including a da Vinci Surgical System robot in the operating room, which will make performing delicate procedures like organ transplants easier by reducing the effects of hand tremors. He said emergency room areas can be lit with various colors, such as pink or blue, which can help patients, especially children, feel a little more at ease in a sterile and unfamiliar setting. “Let’s face it, when you come it’s anxious and it’s our job to put you at ease, and that actually helps with the care delivery process,” Rogols said. SRMC celebrated the opening of the new medical center July 7 and 8 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, mariachi music and free pancakes and breakfast burritos. The center will provide services in psychiatry, pathology, emergency medicine, anesthesiology and radiology, and has 72 inpatient beds, including 12 for intensive care and two 24-bed medical and surgical units and an additional 13 emergency-medicine beds for patients. Executive Director of Communications and Marketing for the UNM Health Sciences Center Billy Sparks said SRMC has already created about 300 jobs and can serve thousands of patients. He said UNM funded $46 million of the $189 million facility, and the rest came from federal bonds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
by Nicole Perez
nicole11@unm.edu
Britney King / Daily Lobo UNM School of Medicine dean Paul Roth (center right) and CEO of Sandoval Regional Medical Center Kevin Rogols (center left) cut the ribbon at the opening of the new medical center in Rio Rancho. The medical center houses new state-of-the-art technology to better serve patients in Sandoval County. “When we decided to do this, Sandoval County was the largest county west of the Mississippi River without a hospital,” he said. “So you’re looking at providing access to quality care for over 100,000 people and it’s really important to be able to do that in your own community.” Sandoval County resident Jessica Gallegos said that as a mother of two, she is happy to have access to health care for her children that isn’t a half-hour drive away. She said a nearby and up-to-date facility will allow parents to put their minds at ease, especially for medical emergencies. “A lot of places are so rural and we have to travel,” she said. “We’ve been really lucky that we haven’t had any issues
with our children, but it is a great thing to have something this beautiful and this new at our grasp.” Chancellor for Health Sciences and Dean of the School of Medicine Paul Roth said the center is the first communitybased teaching hospital in the state. He said the center will also act as a training center for medical and nursing students. “It’s a venue where patients benefit from having learners present and where clinicians serve a dual role of health care provider and teacher,” he said. “These learners will hopefully be the children of Rio Rancho and Sandoval County, with this teaching hospital serving as the last section of the educational pipeline leading to careers in health care.”
A male pedestrian was hit and killed by a pickup truck near campus last week. Albuquerque Police Department Public Information Officer Tasia Martinez said William Nolan was hit by a silver Dodge Ram 1500 at the intersection of Silver Avenue and Princeton Drive on July 3. She said Nolan was walking on the Silver Avenue sidewalk when the driver, Stephen Whitaker, 42, jumped the curb in his truck and straddled the fence at a corner house, hitting Nolan in the process. Martinez said Nolan sustained serious injuries and was rushed to UNMH, where he later died. Witnesses said Whitaker was driving erratically prior to the incident. Police are investigating whether the incident was a result of Whitaker’s suffering a medical episode while he was driving. UNM officials and APD couldn’t confirm whether Nolan was a UNM student, and his friends and family were not available for comment. Nolan was a member of the local band Entry Lights, and according to his bandmates he played the melodica, banjo, dobro guitar, bass, drums and mandolin, and built every instrument he played. “Will, however, was a fiercely independent human being, a good friend, and simply just a great guy, who rarely complained about his lot in life, or how hard he had to struggle to make a living on his own,” a band member posted on the band’s Facebook page. “A truly noble person, always willing to work hard, and dig deep.” Band member James Bigglesworth wrote on Facebook that Nolan was a good friend and a sincere individual whom he will miss. “We had quite a few good talks about God and life and music and women over a smoke and the last words we said to each other were ‘I love you man’ after we hugged,” Bigglesworth wrote. “He never tossed the word ‘love’ around, he literally meant it every time it came out of his mouth. … His music and personality makes him infinite and we won’t ever see him any other way.”
Obama signs law freezing student loan interest by Ken Thomas
The Associated Press
Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP Photo President Barack Obama, flanked by unemployed construction workers, college students and members of Congress, signs HR4348, the Surface Transportation Bill, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington on July 6. The bill maintains jobs on transportation projects and prevents interest rate increases on new loans to millions of college students.
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WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama signed legislation Friday maintaining jobs on transportation projects and preventing interest rate increases on new loans to millions of college students, saying it would “make a real difference” for millions of Americans. Obama, flanked by unemployed construction workers, college students and members of Congress at the White House, said he was hopeful that “this bipartisan spirit spills over into the next phase” on measures to boost the economy. “There’s no excuse for inaction when there are so many Americans still trying to get back on their feet,” Obama said. He said the transportation and education measures “will make a real difference in the lives of millions of Americans.” Obama signed
the bill following a two-day bus trip through parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania. Congress approved the legislation last week after Obama made the expiring student loan interest rates an issue for months, appealing to college students and young voters who are a key constituency for his re-election campaign. The legislation served as an election-year battle over which party is best equipped to help voters grapple with a sluggish economy, the top issue. The bill allows more than $100 billion to be spent on highway, mass transit and other transportation programs during the next two years. The projects would have expired June 30. It also keeps interest rates of 3.4 percent for subsidized Stafford loans for undergraduates. If Congress hadn’t acted, the rate would have doubled beginning July 1 for
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